need 38-55 dies

[pahermit]

JES is reboreing my 336 to 38-55.I've ordered starline brass and now looking for dies.What do you guys use for reloading that caliber?Any tips on that caliber?

[rbertalotto]

You want the RCBS Cowboy dies.....period! They come with two expander buttons for various sized bores. And they do the proper crimp on a lead bullet with the starline brass. I have LEE and Lyman dies in 38-55 and they don't come close to how well the RCBS Cowboy dies work.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/414014/rcbs-cowboy-3-die-set-38-55-wcf

Looks like there is a nice rebate available....

[Trinidad Bill]

You want the RCBS Cowboy dies.....period! They come with two expander buttons for various sized bores. And they do the proper crimp on a lead bullet with the starline brass. I have LEE and Lyman dies in 38-55 and they don't come close to how well the RCBS Cowboy dies work.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/414014/rcbs-cowboy-3-die-set-38-55-wcf

Looks like there is a nice rebate available....

Ditto ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[groovy mike]

If you all don't have any use for the Lee or Lyman dies I wouldn't mind picking up a cheap set of dies for the very little reloading I will do with 38-55!

[rr2241tx]

+1 on the RCBS Cowboy. Cowboy set comes with two expanders: one marked .376 and one marked .379 which corresponds to the diameter of the sized boolit to be seated. Regular green box RCBS expander is marked .375. Cowboy sets seem to be out of stock right now but the .379 expander is available separately if you are in a hurry.

[ph4570]

Yes, the RCBS Cowboy dies using the 0.379 expander work well for me with 0.380 boolits.

[EDG]

The only internal difference between RCBS .38-55 and RCBS Cowboy .38-55 dies is the large .379 expander which is available separately. I have both die sets and and I have measured both. If you can find a standard set used and cheap just get the larger expander.

You can also blow off RCBS and use Lee dies if you can stand the other Lee features such as the sorry seater that will not accept a bullet larger than .376. If you are handy with die polishing you can easily open the Lee seater to accomodate larger bullets since the bullet guide is only about .060 long and would be easy to polish out larger. You can get multiple expanders from Track of the Wolf that fit the Lee expander die. The original Lee expander is pretty sorry for anything except jay bullets.

In any event the Lee .38-55 factory crimp die is the best crimp die for this round.

If you are looking for minimum expenditure used Lee's might be the least money.

If you want a complete - maybe deluxe set up here is what I would buy

1. Sizer RCBS .375 Win - This die is .390 in the neck. It will size your brass less than the other RCBS and Lee dies.
The standard RCBS 38-55 is .385. The Cowboy sizer is .387. The Lee is tapered from .385 down to .383

Updated today - I just got a RCBS .38-55 TRIM die for a learning experience

RCBS .38-55 Trim die (This die is coded with a G code date for 1955)
The neck inside diameter of this die is .394 which makes it just right for minimal sizing
in the .38-55 with .380 and .381 bullets and just right for use with the .375 Win for .375 to .377 bullets - depending on the variations in brass thickness.


2. Expander - Any expander you can get expanders appropriate for your rifle. Lee and RCBS expanders have after market suppliers that can provide you with custom sizes.

3. Seater - The internal bullet guide diameters vary some
RCBS .375 Win Set A .378 Set B .380
RCBS Cowboy .38-55 .381
RCBS Standard .38-55 .380
Lee .38-55 .376

4. Crimp die - As mentioned above the Lee Factory Crimp die is the best thing going for my use. You can get profile or taper crimp speciality dies but I have never tried one for this round.


About the Lee dies
Notice the Lee seater is too small for bullets that will fit a .380 groove diameter rifle. This can be fixed if you are willing to polish or lap the die larger. If you also have a .375 Win rifle you might want to buy a second seater die for the .38-55.
The Lee die set is kind of a silly mix. You can verify it on their site in the parts list of the .38-55 die set.
http://leeprecision.com/parts/reloading-dies/rifle-dies/pacesetter-3-die-set-steel-rifle/3-die-set-38-55-parts/
The Lee sizer is a .38-55 specific die. The Lee expander is the standard crummy Lee expander for the .375 Win. The seater is a .375 Win seater.